Practical application of PAC sludge-valorized biochars to the mitigation of methyl arsenic in wetlands

• Drinking water treatment sludge (PAC sludge) was valorized by pyrolysis. • PAC sludge-valorized biochars exhibited excellent adsorption performance for As species. • Biogeochemical behavior of DMA was identified in a wetland microcosm. • Biochars were practically applied to the mitigation of DMA in wetlands. This study aims to mitigate As pollution in wetlands by using biochar composites, which are a byproduct of valorizing drinking water treatment sludge (i.e., polyaluminum chloride (PAC) sludge). Biochar composites were fabricated under N 2 and CO 2 environments, systematically characterized by X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller/Barrett–Joyner–Halenda analyses, and tested for the adsorption of As species. Both biochar composites exhibited excellent adsorption performance for both inorganic As (As(III) and As(V)) and organic As (dimethylarsinic acid, DMA). A detailed study of the adsorption behavior of DMA revealed that the adsorption reaction complies with the pseudo-second-order kinetics and Freundlich isotherm models. A laboratory-scale microcosm test showed that ∼30% of spiked DMA was removed by biochar and that the total As fixed in the sediment decreased by ∼20%. In addition, the As speciation results for the sediment and biochar revealed demethylation of the DMA and reduction of As(V) to As(III) by microorganisms, which was confirmed by a microbial growth batch test. Finally, a large-scale field experiment carried out in an artificial ecological wetland ensured that the addition of biochar could reduce the total amount of As to be immobilized in wetland sediment by 19%. In addition, the presence of biochar could alter the migration trend of As species in plants by reducing the amount of organic As to be fixed in the sediment. The aforementioned results demonstrate the practical feasibility of using PAC sludge-derived biochar as an adsorbent for As species.